Friend, New Yorkâs 15th Congressional District, located in the South Bronx, has the distinction of being the bluest House seat in the entire country. Yet despite that fact, thereâs a very real chance that it could soon be represented by [one of the most disgusting, unhinged homophobes]( in politics todayâand the worst part is, heâs a Democrat. This is New York City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr.
Fortunately thereâs a far better option, which is why Daily Kos is endorsing City Councilman Ritchie Torres in the June 23 Democratic primary. Torres is a fierce progressive who, at the age of just 25, was the very first gay person to win elected office in the Bronx and would be the first gay Latino member of Congress. And with his record of fighting for the disadvantaged, we can count on him to uphold our values.
[Please rush $3 to Ritchie Torres right now to stop bigot Ruben Diaz from joining Congress!](
But while Torres and Diaz both serve on the City Council, the two could not be more different. In fact, itâs hard to say that Diaz actually âservesâ anyone right now: Last year, much like soon-to-be-former Rep. Steve King, he was [stripped of his committee assignments]( after he said that City Hall was âcontrolled by the homosexual community.â But that was only the most recent in Diazâs long string of grotesque words and deeds attacking LGBTQ people:
- [He has]( "equated being gay to 'having sex with animals' and attacked the 1994 Gay Games in New York because he said the participants were 'likely infected with AIDS.'"
- He [sued to block the expansion]( of a public school serving at-risk gay teens.
- When he served in the state Senate, he was [the only Democrat]( to vote against legalizing same-sex marriageâand he even [led a rally]( to unsuccessfully try to derail the bill.
And, like all bigots, his hatred doesnât stop with gay people. Heâs called abortion âthe American Holocaustâ and said abortion clinics âare doing more extreme thingsâ than Josef Mengele. He also [proudly campaigned with Ted Cruz]( when Cruz was running for president, and when asked who he planned to vote for in 2016 said, âI do like Donald Trump,â adding: âHeâs like me, making enemies everywhere he goes.â
Count us among Diazâs enemies, tooâgladly.
Leading the charge against Diaz is Torres, the son of an African American mother and Puerto Rican father, who grew up in public housing and was [repeatedly hospitalized as a child]( due to asthma attacks brought on by uncontrolled mold growing in his home. He was unable to tell anyone outside of his immediate family about his sexuality until he was in his 20s, fearful of a homophobic backlashâthe kind fueled by the likes of Diazâultimately sinking into depression and dropping out of college.
But Torres stormed back, entered the world of politics, and became the youngest member of the City Council when he was elected in 2013. There he has championed the needs of those in public housing, leading the effort to [obtain a $3 billion grant]( from FEMAâone of the largest in the agencyâs historyâto help give people the safe homes he never had. Heâs also spearheaded an investigation into Jared Kushnerâs real estate conglomerate for (surprise!) falsifying paperwork and [harassing rent-stabilized tenants]( out of their apartments with âweaponized construction.â
Torres is, in other words, exactly the sort of representative the 15th District deserves. The problem is that a dozen Democrats have filed to run for this seat, which is open because Rep. Jose Serrano is retiring. That means Diaz can secure the Democratic nomination (which is tantamount to winning the general election) with just a small plurality of the voteâperhaps as little as 25%âbecause there are no runoffs.
Thatâs why we have to rally around Torres, who not only embodies progressive beliefs but is best positioned to stop Diaz. In fact, [public polling shows him only two points]( behind, 22-20, with the rest of the field trailing distantly. Diaz, however, has held office in the Bronx for 20 years, and he has a core constituency thatâs deeply loyal to him despite his bigotry. Heâs a well known name and heâll be difficult to beat.
We canât risk electing our own version of Steve King. We need to dig deep and help Torres now.
[Please send $3 to help Ritchie Torres stop one of the worst Democrats in the country from winning a seat in the House!](
Thank you,
David Nir, Political Director
Daily Kos
Daily Kos, PO Box 70036, Oakland, CA, 94612.
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